Goodbye 2019 and Hello 2020! || Austin, TX Newborn and Child Photography
Happy New Year everyone! This is my favorite time of the year. I love looking back on the past year and looking forward to the new year. Last year was a mega year for me with lots of milestones and accomplishments and I can only hope that 2020 is even better. I really thought I made a blog post at the end of 2018 with resolutions for the new year and I wanted to look back on it to see if I accomplished them, but I can’t seem to find it. So let’s see if I can remember everything that went down.
Looking back at 2018 I did 134 newborn sessions. I remember I had a goal of trying to do 160 and didn’t make so I didn’t set a goal for 2019, number-wise. But I did 140 newborn sessions! That’s a LOT of baby snuggling! Here’s a snapshot from every newborn session in 2019. 💜(warning…it’s really long! 😬)
Every year I make a bucket list of cakesmash themes that I want to do and last year I think I only missed out on one, Buddy the Elf, so that will roll over to my bucket list for this year. I’m still trying to come up with a few more unique ideas and should be posting that list soon. Here’s a snapshot of every cakesmash session from 2019. 🎂Woodland creatures, floral, and balloon garlands were the front runners for themes. Soooooo much mess but soooooo much fun!
I ran out of time and energy to make more collages but there were a ton of milestone, maternity, family, fresh 48 and mini sessions too. It was one hell of a year and I loved every minute of it!!
Speaking of mini sessions, I had themed mini sessions every month in 2019 and although they were fun and everyone seemed to love them, I will not be continuing with them in 2020. I’ll still do spring/bluebonnet, outdoor fall family, and Christmas mini sessions and occasionally I may do a special themed session, but I’m not going to focus on them this year. The photographer side of me loved them but the business-person side is saying it wasn’t profitable so it’s time to retire that idea.
In 2019 I launched my JDP Warrior Program. These little ones are the toughest and sweetest kiddos and I feel truly honored to have met them and been given the opportunity to create beautiful family photos for them. These guys are my heroes! I also started volunteering for an organization called The Gold Hope Project. We volunteer our services to photograph family of children with cancer. I have met the coolest people this year!
Some other highlights of 2019:
I took over as the area coordinator for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. We were struggling to accommodate the families in need here in Austin, but we are slowly building up a strong team of photographers and volunteers and I am really proud of the service we offer. (Shameless plug…if you are a photographer and would like more information on volunteering, PLEASE contact me!! We desperately need more volunteers, and yes, it is hard, but it is very rewarding. Please consider signing up!)
I moved into a new studio and it was awesome having so much space and having all of my props and equipment so accessible (as opposed to being tucked into every nook and cranny of my home 😜). And although I planned on being in that space for at least another year, I made a big leap and purchased a brand new space and I’m in the process of moving in right now! If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am very impulsive. I get an idea in my head and I just do it. Instant gratification is what it’s all about and it’s served me well my whole life, so far. 😂 I can’t imagine what’s it’s like to plan, and ponder, and do things in an organized manner. My motto…’F*ck it, let’s do it!’ 😎
I hired two fabulous ladies to help me out. (Shout out to Erin and Molly! 😘) Erin is helping me keep up with my editing and Molly is assisting me during some of my sessions. They have been amazing and have really helped me maintain my sanity over these last few months. I’m excited to move forward in 2020.
Some goals for 2020:
Design and decorate a kick ass studio. I want this place to be ah-mazing. For years I have drooled over other photographer’s studios and now I’m ready to drool over my own! This space is a live/work condo on the cool east side. There are 2 floors. The bottom floor is a store-front studio space. The upstairs is a small apartment that I will be using as an office/storage space. But it will also still be a fully functional living space where guests can stay if needed.
I will now offer mentoring and photography education. I have mentored a few photographers in the past and I have a background in education and now I feel like it’s time to start offering photography classes, editing lessons in Lightroom and Photoshop, and mentoring sessions and workshops. Check out the details HERE.
Just keep on truckin’. I’m looking forward to squishing on a lot more babies and meeting a lot more fabulous families. I’m always working on improving my skills and my customer service so my plan is to just keep that up! All y’all gotta do is keep makin’ those babies!! 🤪
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that booked a session in 2019!! You have seriously made my dreams come true and I hope I’ve been able to give you some memories and mementos that will last you a life time. 😘
Love,
Jessica
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